When "The Lion King" roars into Cleveland this week for its second visit to Playhouse Square, the royal Pantheraleo of the title won't be the only monarch in town for the next month and a half.

After only 14 years of existence, Disney Theatrical Productions rules the Broadway and the national touring forests.

Leading the charge is "Lion King," which opened on Broadway 10 years ago and shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to be a leading moneymaker in New York and in productions around the world.

It all started in 1993, when Tom Schumacher and some colleagues at the Walt Disney Co. decided to turn the 1991 animated musical film "Beauty and the Beast" into a stage show, trying it out in Houston and opening the following year in New York.

"It's amazing, really, if you think about what happened," said Schumacher, now president of Disney Theatrical. " 'Beauty' was supposed to be a one-off production. There was never any intention of a separate division of this very large corporation."

Disney didn't establish its theatrical empire until it bought the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street in New York, completely renovated it and opened "Lion King" there in 1997, creating a real-estate and show-business magic kingdom.

Disney now has 16 separate titles in production, either on the stage or in development. "Tarzan" and "Beauty and the Beast" just closed on Broadway.

But both live on: "Tarzan" just opened in the Netherlands, and other productions are planned for Germany and Japan. "Beauty and the Beast" tours the United States and the world, and is performed by local theaters such as the Beck Center in Lakewood.

Still running on Broadway, both "Mary Poppins" (now in the New Amsterdam) and "Lion King" (which moved to the Minskoff) continue to outperform every show in town except "Wicked," each grossing about $1.2 million a week.

The phenomenal success of the Disney Channel's "High School Musical" movie spawned an arena tour last season, a theatrical tour this season and an ice show, in addition to hundreds of high school productions.

Meanwhile, several new shows are gearing up for production, including "Peter and the Starcatchers" (a "Peter Pan" prequel based on a Disney-published book co-written by columnist Dave Barry) and "The Man in the Ceiling" (based on a book by cartoonist and author Jules Feiffer).

The newest project to the stage, "The Little Mermaid," an adaptation of a 1989 Disney animated musical film, began performances Thursday in Denver and is set to move into the Broadway venue being vacated by "Beauty," the Lunt-Fontanne, in November.

Leading it all is still "Lion King." In addition to the Broadway production and two national tours, the show is playing, or soon will be playing, in six foreign cities.

Most recently, it made its first appearance on the continent of its setting, Africa, in a star-studded premiere in Johannesburg.

"There I was at the premiere, seated between the deputy president of South Africa and Oprah Winfrey, who brought 150 girls" from the school she founded there, Schumacher said. "It still generates that kind of heat."

The bottom line: Well, Disney doesn't publish the annual earnings of its theatrical division. But in 10 years, 40 million people have paid $5 billion to see "Lion King," Disney Theatrical managing director David Schrader said.

(In Cleveland, "Lion King" grossed $9.2 million over 7 weeks in a 2003 run at Playhouse Square. This summer's six-week engagement is selling well, but Playhouse Square programming director Gina Vernaci said it's too early to tell how it will end up at the box office, adding that good seats are still available.)

Add to "Lion King" the $1.4 billion that has been grossed worldwide by "Beauty" and $500 million from "Aida."

And consider that Disney Theatrical shows last season accounted for about 17 percent of the annual Broadway gross figures. And Disney shows were responsible for a similar percentage of the touring receipts reported last season.

"Not bad for theater," Schrader said.

He's got a point. While $5 billion in 10 years is impressive for one show, it is not exactly a revenue leader for Disney -- which also owns ABC, ESPN and other cable networks, book publishing houses, film studios and distributors, as well as local TV and radio affiliates.

As a whole, the Walt Disney Co. reported earnings of $35 billion last year alone. So while Disney Theatrical earns a profit, it isn't money alone that drives its existence and growth.

They reflect, in part, the personality of its president.

Schumacher, a 20-year Disney veteran, got his start in theater at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and Theatre Under the Stars in Houston.

He's had an influence both on Disney's animated features, helping to make them more like Broadway musicals than the old movie musicals, and the theater productions.

And he's got a keen eye for talent to help shows make the transition to the stage, involving names such as "Lion King" puppet-narrative master (and Oberlin College graduate) Julie Taymor.

The larger corporation's commitment to theater is also about "bringing Disney storytelling and entertainment to people," Schrader said.

"When the company does brand-penetration research, our live entertainment offerings almost always surface at or near the top in people's minds. You have to commit, you have to buy a ticket, you have to go to the theater -- and once there, you interact with the show.

"That's far more involving than just turning on the TV. And it's a way to experience Disney in your hometown."

Walt Disney -- the visionary who came up with the idea of capitalizing on the success of his films by building Disneyland (and later, Disney World), bringing Disney storytelling and entertainment to people -- would surely have approved.